News & Announcements

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission announced on Thursday that the University of Ibadan had secured the sum of N1 billion for the funding of a diaspora research center.

According to the two organizations, funding education centers and amenities for Nigerians living abroad is part of the aims to promote international collaboration, fellowship, and research.

The Chairman of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri in the statement disclosed that “TETFund followed through with the commitment by earmarking 1 billion naira for the establishment of Diaspora Research Centre in University of Ibadan, one of Nigeria’s most prestigious tertiary institutions. The Diaspora Research Centre will be the first of its kind in Africa with immense potential to shape the landscape of research and development in the continent.”

She informed the TETFund management that NIDCOM was in touch with the University of Ibadan, where the Diaspora Research Centre will be located, to discuss the project’s foundational elements, models, and implementation strategies.

Sonny Echono, the TETFund’s executive secretary, praised the Commission for its work in fostering national development and promoting research collaboration. The TETFund Boss claimed that the Diaspora Research Centre, which will be based at the University of Ibadan, followed NIDCOM’s advice.

The Executive Secretary said, “Under the Special Intervention Initiative of the Fund, an allocation of one billion naira was granted in the Fund’s 2023 budgetary allocation for the construction of Diaspora Center for Research and Development.

“The allocation letter was given to the University of Ibadan in May 2023, with a recommendation that the Institution submits implementation plan for the effective take-off of activities.”

Echono reiterated the TETFund’s commitment to research and development while also announcing that the University of Ibadan had also received an additional $250,000,000 Naira under the 2023 budgetary allocation (Designated Projects) as financial support for the institution’s Global Research Centre.

The Executive Secretary while stating the importance of the facility to the global research community expressed that “The Centre is proposed to house a rich collection of African Diaspora and Transnational Studies resources, including textbooks, archival documents, audio and video tapes, online resources, microfilms and other related materials. It is as well intended to serve as a flagship scientific hub for teaching, research, and other academic activities related to diaspora and transnational studies.

“The proposal indicates that the proposed facility shall be an incubator for hosting experts, practitioners, and policy professionals with interest and experience in research, including hosting fellowship and exchange programmes to produce truly globally impactful diaspora and transnational knowledge.”

He emphasized the goal of the research center once more and expressed his confidence that the facility will foster interactions and partnerships with organizations that formulate domestic and international policy.

Echono while briefing on the implementation plan from the host Institution stated explicitly that “The University of Ibadan is presently perfecting plans for signing of the MOU with NIDCOM, which is the collaborating institution that has been interfacing with TETFund on Diaspora Centre of Excellence project together with NIDCOM. The University has also initiated the search for a TETFund-accredited firm to set about the design of the structure in conformity with the value of the awarded grant while interfacing with the University of Ibadan.”

Adetunji Adeleye, the commander of the Amotekun Corps, officially known as the Ondo State Security Network Agency, has stated that the corps has zero tolerance for disobedience among its officers and men.

This is exactly how he described how the corps had fired four of its commanders for breaking the rules.

This was revealed by Adeleye, who also serves as the governor’s special adviser on security issues, on Wednesday in Akure, the state’s capital.

“We have summarily dismissed four erring officers who ran afoul of the laws and rules guiding the operation of the corps while several others had been sent to detention centres to ensure that they conform to the norms and standard operational practice of the organisation,” he said.

Adeleye noted that in its first two years of operation, the corps detained around 7,000 criminals.

The commander also said that 1,500 of the individuals who had been detained had been charged with crimes.

He said, “Other sister security agencies – the Army, the police and the Department of State Services- are giving us support. The DSS has often assisted us in getting the requisite geo-location of kidnap victims and suspects.

“All these coupled with our local intellect and unconventional methods had assisted us in arresting to date, well over 7,000 suspected criminals in the last two years, out of which 1,500 of them have been charged to court.

“We have even secured judgment of very many of them. At a time when the turnout of criminals was becoming unmanageable for the judiciary, the administration of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu graciously approved the building of two courts to assist the judiciary in the prompt dispensation of justice”.

He added that over the past two years, the state’s long-running conflict between farmers and herdsmen has decreased by almost 95%.

He added, “By the time we took off, within two weeks, we received over 5,000 petitions on herders/farmers clashes. It was becoming impossible for farmers to go to their farms for fear of herders molesting, kidnapping, maiming or killing them. It was becoming very difficult for civil servants to board taxis across the town without being kidnapped, molested or robbed in daylight. The worse was climbing on Okada.

“The first area of attack by Amotekun was the herders/farmers clashes. We started with mass public enlightenment that farmers have the right to plant and herders the right to rear their cows but they don’t have the right to infringe on the business of the other one. After this, we called the meeting of the Miyetti Allah group in the state and in the South West and we explained the position of the corps, giving a deadline after which we announced that we will commence enforcement.”

Consumers of gas are in for harder times because marketers have suggested that prices would increase the next week.

Gas consumers should prepare for price increases starting the following week, according to Olatunbosun Oladapo, president of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers.

He listed several factors for the anticipated pricing review, including rising global prices, high tax rates and shipping costs, a lack of foreign exchange, and a depreciating naira.

“It is starting next week because international prices have gone up. The prices of vessels have gone up and taxes are high, but consumers are not earning more.

“Their purchasing power has gone down. Everybody is crying. Consumers, middlemen, and retailers are feeling the impact because business is now on the low side,” he said.

Olatunbosun described the imminent price increment as unfortunate.

“The situation is very unfortunate because prices are going higher. Nigerian consumers are passing through very difficult times because they can no longer afford gas,” he added.

According to him, consumers are now returning to firewood, charcoal, and sawdust for cooking.

“The government should come in and alleviate the suffering of the masses by providing palliatives, reducing taxes and levies.

“You can imagine that for every 1kg of gas priced at N700, tax would take way N3.50. How much is left in such a business?” he continued.

He urged the government to tax profit and not products because consumers were not buying gas anymore.

He claimed that “local taxes are exacerbating the issue” and urged marketers who offered local people the chance to purchase their goods to set pricing with “consumers’ sympathy” in mind.

Concerned about what might be the consequences of the proposed military intervention in Niger Republic, the Reunion of Episcopal Conferences of West Africa (RECOWA) has urged the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to restrain from the use of force to restore the constitutional regime in the country.

RECOWA, comprising all Catholic Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops in West Africa, also urged the sub-regional leaders to learn from what happened in Libya in 2011, describing it as a tragic example of the disastrous consequences for people’s lives, dignity and future. 

They expressed their concerns in a two-page letter addressed to the President of ECOWAS, Heads of State of ECOWAS and the Transitional Authorities in Niger on August 7, calling for dialogue and reconciliation rather than belligerence and military response.

The letter, signed by the President of RECOWA and Bishop of Agboville, Most Rev. Alexis Touabli Youlo, was sequel to the military coup that displaced the democratically elected government of President Mohammed Bazoum in Niger Republic and the resolve of the ECOWAS Authority  to deploy all means necessary, even the use of force, to restore the constitutional regime in Niger.

Despite a seven-day ultimatum issued to the military regime led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani to restore Niger’s constitutional government, all other diplomatic measures taken by the ECOWAS, African Union, European Union and the United Nations to resolve the Niger crisis have not brought about order and stability to the troubled country.

In its two-page letter, RECOWA canvassed pacifism rather than belligerence in the management of this crisis, inviting every actor within outside the sub-region to show restraint, discernment and responsibility.

The letter read in part: “We, the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of the Reunion of Episcopal Conferences of West Africa, after consultations, are deeply concerned by the sub-regional tension linked to the political situation in Niger. 

“Faced with the events currently unfolding in the sub-region, the lives of the people of West Africa are at stake.

“Keeping as our central vision the integrity of the people and emphasising respect for human dignity and a high sense of accountability to mankind, history and God the Creator, we affirm that nothing can justify the creation or facilitation of an environment that is destructive to our people.”

They sternly observed that no individual, national, regional, geo-political or denominational interest or project should take precedence over the preservation of life, human dignity and the well being of the future generation in West Africa and beyond.

On this ground, the letter further read: “We, your pastors, are convinced, and the history of people teaches us that violence does not solve any problem, not even the one that triggered it. 

“We affirm that any military intervention in Niger at this time would contemplate the situation of the people of Niger and the sub-region more than it would provide solutions. 

“Terrorism already has a macabre toll of widows, orphans, displaced persons, the hungry, the maimed and so on. People are not expecting the regional, African and other institutions to add to this toll.”

The bishops cited the military intervention in Libya by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in 2011, describing the military intervention as a tragic example of the disastrous consequences for people’s lives, dignity and future. 

They, therefore, said: “We cannot remain silent in the face of such situations and must learn lessons to ensure that such events do not happen again, particularly with Niger as a potential epicentre of a similar crisis. As a Bishops’ conference, our mission is intimately linked to the promotion of reconciliation and peace.

“We firmly believe that every human being is called to live in peace and to be a peacemaker in accordance with the teachings of the Bible and those of the holy books of other religious confessions, which exhort us to work for reconciliation and brotherhood between all peoples. 

“Peace is a precious gift that we must cultivate and preserve together. It is like a common mat that we must weave together with each person contributing to his or her own thread.”

The bishops canvassed measures to deepen and promote peace within the sub-region.They also challenged all men, women, and national, sub-regional and international organisations to play a positive role in easing tensions and promoting lasting peace, noting that the people of the region “love and accept each other and are constantly seeking to improve their coexistence.

“This is a natural gift that we must support and encourage. Every actor and institution should contribute positively to this process by promoting dialogue and cooperation,” the bishops further demanded,” they said.

They called on the African Union and ECOWAS to show responsibility before history and to revisit their respective missions. 

At this critical and delicate time, according to them, it is essential that these organisations play an active role in the search for  peaceful and lasting solutions, putting the interests of the people and respect for their dignity first.

The bishops then called on the sub-regional leaders to respond decisively to this call for restraint, discernment and responsibility, but work together to build a future of peace and prosperity for West Africa region and Africa as a whole.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has declared that the security around Presidents.is so tight that it is easier to see Jesus than most heads of states.

He spoke at the Redemption City, venue of the 71st Convention of the RCCG, titled “Beyond Expectations.”

Adeboye, sharing his experience visiting some heads of states, said you have to go through many ‘Gates’ with different instructions before you are eventually ushered before them.

He said, “I can tell you that I have access to many heads of states. When you’re visiting them, you go through different gates. From gate one to maybe six, your phone will be withdrawn. It’s such a rigorous process before you eventually see the President .

”The first time I met a president and having gone through the rigorous process, I came back to the Redemption City, thanking God that it is easier to see Jesus than most heads of states.”

Adeboye, however, admonished worshippers at the programme to depend solely on God as He is the only One that they can see and have reprieve at the time of trouble.

The week long convention which begins on Monday continues today till Sunday.

Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that eliminating gasoline subsidies will cut carbon emissions in the country.

Shettima made the remarks on Monday at the National Council on Climate Change’s one-day workshop titled “Unpacking the Outcomes of the 58 Sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”

According to Shettima, Nigeria is expected to avoid more than 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in a single year.

Shettima, who was represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan, his Deputy Chief of Staff, stated that Nigeria was on track to meet the nationally agreed contribution targets.

“At the onset of this administration, President Bola Tinubu took the bold step to put an end to the petrol subsidy. Preliminary analysis conducted by the National Council on Climate Change on the co-benefits of fuel subsidy removal indicates that there has been about a 30 per cent reduction in daily fuel consumption, amounting to about 20 million litres, equivalent to an estimated daily saving of 42,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

“When projected over one year, it amounts to over 15 million tonnes of CO2 saved, representing about 40 per cent greenhouse gas reduction from the baseline projection of 45 million metric tonnes of total GHG carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030. This places Nigeria on course to achieve our NDC targets ahead of time,” he said.

Dr Salisu Dahiru, Director General of the NCCC, stated that Nigeria must appropriately prepare for COP28 and other statutory meetings.

The Lagos State Police Command apprehended Taye Abass, a female trader who allegedly trafficked Colorado, a strong narcotic, through her niece (name withheld) to avoid police inspections.

On Tuesday, the woman, who lives in the Oko Oba area of Lagos, confessed to the crime while being paraded by police at the state headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos.

Abass stated that she always used the girl to take the drugs from their home to her shop in order to avoid getting stopped because no one would suspect a small girl.

Abass said, “When I went to Ilorin, my mother asked me to bring her with me to Lagos about two months ago. I sell drinks. When she got to my place, feeding was hard. Where I usually take my drinks for sale, somebody then introduced me to Colorado that I should be selling it. He told me the police always arrested people selling it. So whenever I am taking the drinks for sale, I usually put it (the drug) in her underwear, and ask her to put it in the shop where I always collect it back from her.”

The woman pleading for mercy requested forgiveness, claiming that it was due to hardship, and that other conspirators had fled.

The underage girl stated that she was brought to the police station and that when she tried to bathe, the drug was discovered on her body.

“I told them it is my sister’s mum that put it on me. She started putting it on me when I came to her place.

“She used to sell it but I don’t know those that do come to buy it. She tells me she puts it on my body because the police can not search me,” the girl said.

In a statement to the press, state Police people Relations Officer Benjamin Hundeyin stated that the culprit was apprehended by the combined efforts of the people and the police.

Hundeyin said, “This shows the success the collaboration with the public is yielding. The girl was found roaming the street and a good neighbor brought her to the station so she was taken to the station where she complained that she was being maltreated at home, and she ran away while running an errand. While she was being made to have her bath and change her clothes, it was discovered that the drug was hidden in her panties and that prompted further questions.”

“We extended the investigation to her home and we were able to bring her guardian to the station at the Pen Cinema Division. She did not deny it; she admitted that had been her way to courier the drugs from her home to her shops

“The girl will be handed over to her family and the suspect will be prosecuted accordingly,” the PPRO stated.

The Federal Government’s team that will engage with the labor unions on remedies for subsidy removal was rejected by the organized labor on Tuesday. The team’s leader was Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President.

When the union officials visited the Senate, Joe Ajaero, the national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, announced this.

He added that after two months after the elimination of fuel subsidies, President Bola Tinubu’s pay award committee has yet to convene because the chief of staff has been too busy to call for a meeting.

The labor leaders met with the leadership while they were in the Senate.

The Senate in a resolution two weeks ago agreed to meet with the labour unions on the subsidy removal palliative.

Ajaero said,  “Part of our challenge is the issue of the committee put in place, the committee seems not to be capable, as labour union, we have done negotiation and engagement with the government, from the time of the Secretary to the General of the Federation under ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, Ufot Ekaette,  during BabaGana Kingibe, Pius Ayim and Boss Mustapha.

“At no time had the Chief of Staff to the President who is very busy called to negotiate or lead negotiations.

“And that has delayed the issues, even since after our protest; another meeting has not reconvened, although the president promised that he will restructure the mechanism of engagement with government to help things to be treated fast.”

Ajaero added, “We had agreed on wage award, and up till this moment the committee on wage award is yet to sit.”

During a meeting with Senate leadership, the NLC President decried the condition of Nigerians as a result of the reduction of gasoline subsidies.

He stated that the administration had failed to put systems in place to mitigate the effects in the country.

He informed lawmakers that while labor leaders were still debating N537 per litre of fuel and the Court had upheld the status quo, the government abruptly chose to raise the price to N620 per litre.

NLC president stated, “Nothing is yet to happen on the issue of $800m projected to be borrowed, we have not perfected the list of the people who will benefit from it.

Family members of a 30-year-old woman named Rafiat Okewole are currently in mourning over the woman’s alleged untimely demise at the hands of her husband, Wole.

Despite being married to the businessman, Okewole was reportedly living separately on Odelusi Street in Ota, Ogun State’s Ijoko neighborhood.

She allegedly died in a fight that broke out after she went to see her husband on Sunday in the Gas Line neighborhood of Ijoko to get money for her children’s maintenance.

The deceased was rumored to have been engaged in an ongoing argument with her spouse about his purported neglect of their children.

The problem, however, came to a head during Okewole’s Sunday visit when Wole allegedly slammed her head against the wall.

After the incident, Okewole’s neighbors tried to save her life, but their efforts were unsuccessful; the hospital where she was sent for treatment confirmed that she had passed away.

Further information revealed that her 41-year-old husband was detained when one of the deceased’s siblings reported the incident to a police station.

One of the deceased’s brothers, Akinola Shittu, in an interview, said he was devastated by the news of his sister’s death.

He said, “My elder brother called me on Sunday evening to inform me that Rafiat died. I asked what happened and he told me that it was reported to him that Wole smashed her head against the wall of his house when she went to ask for money for the upkeep of their kids.

“This happened at Wole’s Gas Line, Ijoko residence on Sunday around 3pm.

“Immediately, I rushed to the house and I saw that neighbours had already gathered and my sister was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. I am devastated.

 “I later learnt that one of my brothers who lives nearby reported the case at Sango Police Station which led to Wole’s arrest.”

The deceased’s sister, Basirat Liasu, told our correspondent that the incident happened in the presence of Okewole’s daughter who accompanied her to Wole’s house.

Liasu said, “I learnt on Sunday from one of our elder sisters that Rafiat died due to injuries inflicted on her by her husband, Wole, who hit her head against the wall in his house.

“Rafiat was not living with Wole as of the time of the incident because she was Wole’s second wife. Though, his first wife also packed out earlier in the year.

“She went there to ask for money for the children’s upkeep. One of her children who accompanied her to the house told neighbours that her father hit her mother’s head on the wall.”

The deceased’s elder brother, Yusuf, told that he was the one who reported the matter at the Sango Divisional Police Headquarters.

He said, “My wife was the one that called me on the telephone and informed me that she heard that my sister died after her husband hit her head against the wall of his house.

 “I rushed to the hospital at Ijoko but she was already dead and I learnt that Wole was still boasting that nothing would happen to him after killing my sister.”

When contacted, Omolola Odutola, the state police public relations officer, confirmed the event.

She said Wole was already being held by the police.

The PPRO said, “The Sango Ota Police Division arrested a murder suspect on August 6, 2023, around 4pm. It was one Segun Osho who reported that his sister, Rafiat Okewole, who lived at Odelusi Street, Ijoko, Ota had an argument with her husband, Oluwole Okewole, and he hit her head on the wall and she became unconscious.

“She was rushed to a hospital in Ota where she was confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.

“Detectives visited the scene, arrested the suspect for interrogation and took photographs while the corpse was evacuated to the mortuary for autopsy.”

Niger’s junta has appointed an economist, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine as the transitional prime minister on Monday.

The coup plotters made this known according to a decree read on national television, more than a week after the military coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum.

According to Anadolu Agency, the caretaker government, addressed itself as the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, as the speech was read by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the former commander of Niger’s presidential guard, who declared himself the head of a transitional government.

Zeine, 58, served as finance minister under Mamadou Tandja, who led the country from 1999 to 2010 after its return to civilian rule.

He currently serves as the African Development Bank’s Country Manager for Chad and previously served at the same institution and position in Ivory Coast and Gabon.

According to the decree, Zeine is expected to lead consultations for the formation of a new government.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is to hold another emergency summit on Thursday in Nigeria to address the political crisis in Niger after the military leaders ignored its ultimatum to cede power.

On Monday, the US State Department said it made direct contact with the coup leaders and had stressed the need to reinstate Bazoum and for Niger to revert to its “constitutional order.”

Bazoum was detained by members of the Presidential Guard on July 26, who later that evening announced the government takeover.